Yarn and manufacture of the same



NOV; 27, 1934. J, MORTON 1,982,014-

YARN AND MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME Filed Oct. 14, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 2 7, 1934. J. MORTON 1,982,014

'YARN AND MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME Filed Ooi. 14, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 135.10. 41 l \C/ 42 N 30 -31 I F .12 Z9 50 51 52 I51 I iguana-12:; 21 22 LBJ 30 2 mwm,

Patented Nov. 27, 1934.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application October 14, 1933, Serial No. 693,567 In Great Britain October 26, 1932 8 Claims.

from the core radially and at right angles to the.

other series and the tufts of one series alternating with those of the other. It is also known to manufacture fiat chenille, in which only one series of tufts extend from a central core. In both cases, the chenille may be manufactured by weaving, or otherwise producing, a preparatory cloth and, thereafter, cutting this cloth into narrow strips constituting the chenille. tory cloth for cutting into fiat chenille may also consist of binding threads and transverse pile yarns which are secured to the binding threads by adhesive and which, when out, constitute the 25 tufts.

Chenille is also manufactured by inserting tufts between twisted core threads, which bind the tufts, this kind of chenille being called twisted chenille.

In all cases, the tufts are more or less straight, orradial to the core, with their ends exposed; the tufts retain the fibrous twisted appearance got when they are originally spun; they are entirely separate from one another; and the core is, more or less, exposed.

It is customary to make chenille with tufts cut from differently coloured yarns, so that the chenille is differently coloured throughout its length. However, multi-coloured or other tufted thread made mechanically by the existing modes is subject to the disadvantage that its uses are strictly limited, and it cannot be used, generally, for all the purposes for which one can use spun yarns.

It is of course well known to manufacture multi-coloured spun yarns, but the colouring is usually effected by' printing. Such printed yarns have the disadvantage that the colours blend into one another unsatisfactorily, and it is impracticable to obtain a sharply defined colour-junction.

The chief object of my invention is to provide an improved yarn having a substantial compact round-section body and being suitable for many of the uses to which ordinary spun yarn can be I put, including use as warp and weft in weaving.

The improved yarn is composed of chenilleor Prepara other tufted thread whosetufts' are wrapped and inter-engaged or united about a core in such manner as to produce a felted or matted surface; The tufts are so wrapped round the core as'to merge, more or less, into one another and completely cover the core.

The method whereby the 7 improved yarn is manufactured consists in subjecting a tufted thread to a combined rolling and pressing operation so as to separate the tuft fibres, tocrush 651 the fibres of the tufts upon the core and roll them around it, and to force the fibres of adjacent tufts to felt together, or intermingle.

The improved yarn may conveniently be called rolled yarn.

The tufted thread used, as aforesaid, for conversion into rolled yarn may be flat or round chenille, no matter how produced.

Apparatus for carrying out the invention includes a pair of members which receive a relative crosswise movement and at least one of which may receive a thread-conveying movement, the said members presenting contiguous rubbing surfaces between which tufted thread is passed lengthwise and'pressed.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:--

Figs. 1 and 2 are a plan and section respectively of a fragment of flat chenille.

Figs. 3 and 4 are corresponding views of a fragment of round chenille.

Figs. 5 and 6 are corresponding views drawn to an enlarged scale of a fragment of rolled yarn according to this invention. 9

Fig. '7 is a plan, also drawn to an enlarged scale, of a fragment of rolled yarn according to this invention and consisting of differently coloured portions.

Figs. 8 and 9 are an elevation and plan respectively of one form of apparatus for mechanically treating the yarn. V

Figs. 10 and 11 are corresponding views of another form of apparatus.

Fig. 12 is a plan of yet another form of apparatus.

The fragment of fiat chenille shown in Figs. 1 and 2 consists of a series of co-planar tufts '20 of wool or other suitable pile material and a core of binding threads 21 interwoven with the tufts,

there being three threads 21 in the example shown.

The fragment of round chenille shown in appropriate way.

In performing the invention, tufted yarn is mechanically treated to separate the twisted fibres of the tufts (the fibres being twisted during the original spinning operations), to crush the tuft fibres upon the core and roll them around it, and to force the fibres of adjacent tufts to; felt together, or intermingle. A round yarn having a felted or matted surface is thus produced; and it is found that the tufts maintain the form= into which their fibres become set during the mechan: ical treatment.

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate a plain rolled yarn pro duced by the mechanical treatment, and Fig. 7 illustrates a rolled yarn having different colours throughout its length, the different colours being conventionally represented by different shadings. This yarn is made from tufted yarn having correspondingly different-coloured tufts. The core threads are again denoted by 2 1, and the felted, consolidated and fibrous body is denoted by 22. It is found that, in the differently coloured rolled yarn, the adjacent colours are sharply defined, so that this yarn is suited ideally for use in the manufacture of fabrics with sharply defined or intricate designs or patterns, and such fabrics may be woven in an ordinary loom.

With reference now to the apparatus for applying the requisite mechanical treatment to the yarn, a simple form of such apparatus is illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. The apparatus includes an endless travelling thread-conveying band 30 passing around two rollers or rotatable pulleys 31, the upper stretch of the band passing along the top of a stationary supporting table 32. The apparatus also includes a presser-block 33 which is forced by its weight (or, alternatively, by external adjustable weights or springs) towards that portion of the band 30 which is passing over the table 32. The band is made of rubber, leather or other suitable rubbing material, and the presser-block is faced with such material. The presser block is connected to any appropriate mechanism (such as crank-and-connecting-rod mechanism) for imparting to it a crosswise reciprocatory motion, indicated by arrows in Fig. 9.

In the use of the apparatus, one or both rollers are driven. to move the upper stretch of the band lengthwise, and tufted thread 20, 21 led from a suitable source is passed between the crosswise reciprocatory presser-block 33 and the endless band 30. The tufted thread, in its passage, is pressed and rolled in the manner hereinbefore described into the form of rolled yarn 22, and this yarn passes, preferably by way of a suitable tension device (not shown), to a take-up motion, the tension device exercising a pull sufiicient to maintain the yarn substantially straight during the pressing and rolling operation.

It will be clear that a number of tufted threads may be supplied to the apparatus and operated upon simultaneously in order to form a like number of rolled yarns. I

In the use of the apparatus above described, there will not only be imparted to the tufts a combined pressing and rolling operation, but also a lengthwise drag, on account of the presserblock being stationary endwise. If it be desired to obviate the production of this drag, provision may be made for moving, in unison, both members endwise while the thread passes between them. A form of apparatus having such provision will now be described with reference to Figs. 10 and 11.

As shown in Figs. 10 and 11, twov superposed endless bands 30, 40 respectively pass around pairs of rotatable rollers 31, 31, and 41, 41 the rollers constituting one pair being adjustable towards and away from the other pair (for example, by a screw-adjustment interconnecting the bearings of the rollers). The adjacent stretches of the two bands pass respectively above and below two presser-tables 32, 42 which are adjustably pressed towards one another by weights or springs in any suitable manner and which serve to press the said stretches towards one another. one of the bands and its roller receive, in addition to the necessarylongitudinal thread-conveying movement, a crosswise reciprocatory motionv (by any suitable means, such as a cam device or an adjustable eccentric device).

Inthe use of the apparatus, rollers of both pairs are driven so that the contiguous stretches of the bands move at the same speed towards the take-up end, and tufted thread is passed between these stretches. In the passage of the tufted thread, the tufts receive, in combination with the pressure action, a purely transverse rolling action, with the result that no lengthwise drag is imparted to them. v.

If desired, both bandsmay receive a differential crosswise reciprocatory motion; and provision may be made to stop the rotational movement of the rollers supporting one or both of the vision is made to take the original twist from the tufts as a preliminary operation. This provision takes the form of a preliminary unit comprising two members 50, 5f presenting contiguous rubbing faces between which the tufted thread is passed. The member 50 is a presser-block which receives a reciprocatory motion (by crank-andconnecting rod or other suitable mechanism) in a direction inclined to the direction in which the tufted thread passes between the members, the inclined reciprocatory motion being indicated-by arrows. The member 51 consists of a stationary table. Springs, or weights may be provided to press the block 50 towards the table 51 so that the tufted thread, in its passage, is subjected to an inclined rubbing action, the effect of which is to take the twist out of the tufts and set them closely against one another. The partially rolled tufted thread is then passed to a finishing unit comprising apparatus such as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 8 and 9 for effect,- ing a combined pressing and rolling action. The rubbing and rolling members of both units of the apparatus may be arranged to reciprocate in unison; that is, when one member moves in one direction across the line of motion of the tufted thread and rolled yarn, the other moves in the same direction.

If desired, apparatus such as described with reference to Figs. 10 and 11 may instead beqused 145 yarnit being found that increased mechanical treatment is required for such thread to ensure adequate separation and proper spreading of the tuft fibres; and it is generally necessary to apply the said treatment in two different directions, as in the Fig. 12 arrangement. In connection with tufted thread whose tufts are of soft twistthat is, loosely twisted apparatus such as illustrated diagrammatically in Figs. 8 and 9 or Figs. 10 and 11 can be effectively employed without need for a preliminary unit.

The manufacture of the rolled yarn may be facilitated by steaming or vaporizing the threads (especially those of a lively fibre), or by sizing them before undergoing the rolling operation.

The new yarn differs materially from the ordinary round chenille in that the ends of the tufts are not radially exposed, the tufts intermingle with one another to form a felted or matted surface, and the round body of the yarn is not loose but compact.

Fabrics of various kinds can be made in usual and well known manner with the rolled yarn.

I claim:-

1. Round-section yarn consisting of a core and tufts which extend from said core, wind tightly around said core and inter-engage to form a felted surface.

2. Round-section yarn consisting of a core and fibrous tufts, in which yarn the tufts are attached to and extend from said core and wind themselves tightly around said core, the fibres of adjacent tufts intermingling so that said tufts intimately merge into one another and present a round, compact and felted surface.

3. Yarn which is made of chenille including a core and tufts extending from said core, and in which the tufts wind tightly around said core and inter-engage to form a felted surface.

4. Round-section yarn which is made of chenille including a core and fibrous tufts attached to and extending from said core, and in which yarn the tufts wind themselves tightly around said core, the fibres of adjacent tufts intermingling so that said tufts intimately merge into one another and present a round, compact and felted surface.

5. A method of manufacturing yarn from tufted thread including a core with fibrous tufts attached thereto, which method consists in simultaneously rolling and pressing said tufted thread transversely thereof until the tufts wind tightly around the core with the fibres composing adjacent tufts intermingled.

6. A method of manufacturing round-section yarn from tufted thread such as chenille including a core with fibrous tufts attached thereto, which method consists in simultaneously rolling and pressing said tufted thread transversely thereof until the tufts wind tightly around the core with the fibres composing adjacent tufts intermingled to present a round, compact and felted surface.

7. A method of manufacturing yarn from tufted thread including a core with tufts attached thereto, which method consists in applying transverse rolling pressure as a first operation to spread the tufts, and applying transverse rolling pressure as a second operation to said tufted thread until the spread tufts wind tightly around the core and inter-engage.

8. A method of manufacturing round-section yarn from tufted thread such as chenille including a core with fibrous tufts attached thereto, which method consists in simultaneously rolling and pressing said tufted thread transversely thereof as a first operation to spread the fibres of the tufts, and simultaneously rolling and pressing said tufted thread transversely thereof as a second operation until the spread fibres of the tufts wind tightly around the core and intermingle to present a round, compact and felted surface.

JAMES MORTON. 

